Former Red Devils star Ellington closes college career on top

There’s a reason that former Randolph-Clay star Dexter Ellington could only manage a small smile as he held Texas Southern’s regular-season conference title trophy two weeks ago: The Tigers, despite winning the SWAC, could not compete in their conference tourney because of multiple NCAA violations by a former coach — and thus had no shot at making the Big Dance. As a result, Ellington’s stellar career at Southern came to a bittersweet end, but it ended with a title. (Dexter Ellington/Special to The Herald)